


Curses Aren't The Only Things That Break

by ksonoqueso



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:27:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28916832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksonoqueso/pseuds/ksonoqueso
Summary: I started writing this one day, left it a lone for almost a year, and am now back into it. Canon-compliant for the most part? I'm not sure, we'll see what happens when we get thereIf someone could help me figure out how to mark this as incomplete or work in progress, I would be forever grateful bc apparently I do not know how to do that. That said: THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

The common room the night before the new term was loud and obnoxious, most people not wanting to sleep on a Sunday. Ron and Harry were playing a game of Exploding Snap and Hermione looked on them with irritation. “It wouldn’t hurt to try and do some homework, you know.”

Ron didn’t even look before saying “It wouldn’t hurt you to have some fun.” Harry looked at her apologetically.

She and Ron had been fighting more than usual and she couldn’t pinpoint why. It just felt as though, suddenly, she didn’t want to be around him. He was rude and hurtful without realizing it and she always came away from interactions with him feeling unwanted. Unless, of course, it had to do with homework, at which point Ron always acted as though she were the best person he’d ever been around. 

“Well, I’m sorry that I want to do good in school. You do know that we have to take our OWLs this year, right?”

“Yes, you won’t bloody well let me forget it, will you?” he snapped at her, finally looking over at her. 

“It’s for your own good.”

He groaned. “You’re not my mother, Hermione. Leave it alone.” 

“Well, someone has to act like it, don’t they? You won’t do anything.”

“Why should I? You’ll do it all for me. Or you’ll do it for Harry, and then he’ll do it for me.”

Hermione didn’t say anything for a second. And then she couldn’t stop herself from saying “Why are you even friends with me, Ron?” She said it so quietly, sure that he didn’t hear it. 

He leaned back in his chair, stretching. Harry looked between the two of them worriedly, and quickly said, “We like you, Hermione. That’s why we’re friends with you.” 

Ron was quick to nod in agreement, apparently realizing that he’d come very close to hurting Hermione’s feelings. “We like you a lot, Hermione.” 

“Right,” she said, and went back to her essay. 

Harry quickly ended the game and took out his work, leaving Ron to fend for himself for entertainment. He decided, after being unable to find someone else to play a game with, to do his homework, too. They soon began asking her questions about what they were doing, which cut into her own work. 

Finally, the boys called it a night. Hermione sighed as they crossed the room and went up to their dorm. At least it was quiet now, and she could finish what she needed to do for her own homework. Fred and George walked past her as well, Fred looking back to blow a kiss her way. She pretended to catch it, smiling for the first time that night. 

A few minutes later, Fred came back downstairs, settling into the couch with his long legs spanning its length. Hermione stretched against the seat of it before folding over the coffee table and working on her essay. 

They sat in silence for a bit while she worked, until he asked “Why are you friends with Boy Wonder and Ron?” 

She shrugged. “Sometimes, I think if they weren’t friends with me, I wouldn’t have friends at all.” 

“Course you would,” he told her, leaning onto one elbow and looking concerned.

“First year, before we all became friends, I didn’t have any. I ate by myself, I did homework by myself, I worked by myself in class. Nobody talked to me.” 

“Well, first year, you came off a bit strong.” 

“I know that!” She hit him lightly on the knee, and he nudged back. “But still, it’s lonely, you know?”

“Is that why you’re friends with them?”

“Who else would I be friends with, Fred?”

He feigned hurt, placing his hand over his heart. “You wound me, Hermione.” 

“Do you really want me, the girl perpetually afraid of breaking the rules, following you around?”

“Fair point.” 

They slipped into silence again. 

“If you ever need a break from Harry and Ron, come find me.”

She smiled at him. “Of course.”

*******

Finding Fred when she needed someone proved a bit more difficult than she expected. He was never where she expected him, and when he was, it was usually surrounded by several people. She never wanted to tear him away from whatever fun he was having, so she quietly left wherever they were and holed herself up in the library. 

Harry and Ron, undoubtedly, always found her and bugged her. Usually, they found her right before Fred would turn the corner and see her, make eye contact and leave again. She always wanted to get up and run after him, but it never seemed like the right time to forsake her other friends.

It wasn’t until Fred found Hermione in the Astronomy Tower, reading a book and taking notes, that she finally got a chance to talk to him. Somehow, though, staring up at the night sky with a book on her lap and a friend sitting next to her, she didn’t feel the need to talk to him. 

“What are you doing up here?”

“Harry and Ron always find me in the library.” 

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” He settled down on the flagstone next to her, taking out his own parchment and quill. They worked in silence for a bit. Hermione quite enjoyed the ability to work with someone who didn’t need everything answered for them, and being able to focus entirely on what she was doing. When she came to the end of her essay, one of the few that was written entirely uninterrupted, she set it down to dry and looked over at Fred.

He was hunched over several rolls of parchment, all with multiple complicated equations and several notes. His entire focus was on one particular series of equations, difficult even for her. “What’s this for?” She asked, moving closer to look at it.

He glanced up, eyebrows furrowed, and shrugged. “It’s not for a class, you probably don’t want to know about it.”

“Oh, yeah?” She challenged. 

“Yeah, Miss Prefect. You’ll owl my mum, won’t you?”

“Are you still testing on first years?”

“No.”

She grinned. “Then we’re good. What are you working on?”

Fred sighed and shifted the parchment so she could see better. They spent the better part of an hour working it out, fixing the equations so they wouldn’t result in some unfortunate accident. Hermione checked her watch once they had finished and gasped when she saw it was past curfew. 

“Oh, no,” she groaned, hurriedly getting up and packing her things. “It’s past curfew, we’re going to get in trouble!” 

“Only if we’re caught, Granger.” He had stood up as well, stretching and pulling his things together. 

“Get caught? Of course we’ll get caught. Have you met me?” 

“Have you met me, Granger? I’m always out past curfew!”

She glared at him. But, sensing that perhaps he had better luck than she usually did, sighed. “Fine, lead the way, Weasley.”

“With pleasure,” he said, grinning and leading her through the halls back up to the common room. They made it there without incident, save for the Fat Lady calling them out. “Aw, but you look so beautiful in the moonlight, how could I not want to see you now?” Fred had told her, turning his charm to eleven. The Fat Lady blushed, and asked for the password, popping open to let them in.

They stood in the common room, which was mostly empty save for Harry and Ron. They all looked at each other, Hermione the first to break everyone’s gaze. Harry glanced her curiously, and she shrugged. Ron and Fred, however, were staring at each other, a somewhat defiant look in each boy’s gaze. Fred finally shrugged, broke the stare, nodded at Hermione, and took the stairs up to the dorms. There was something more to that standoff than either would eventually tell her, but she would figure it out one day.

Hermione looked after him for a second before plopping down on a chair opposite Harry and Ron. 

“What were you doing with Fred?” Ron asked, his face screwed up with irritation. 

“We weren’t doing anything, Ron,” Hermione snapped, rolling her eyes. 

“Then why did--” He started, but Hermione cut him off.

“Because I was at the library and realized it was past curfew. We ran into each other a bit from the common room and walked together. Is it that scandalous, Ron?” 

Harry snorted. Ron sank back into the couch with his arms crossed. His face was red. 

Hermione sighed with exasperation, “Oh, for crying out loud, what does it matter!” 

Ron muttered under his breath. Harry shook his head, “Mate, it doesn’t matter. Get over it. They’re like brother and sister anyway.” 

Hermione nodded, feeling like she had just been dropped in cold water but unable to pinpoint why. Fred was basically her brother, she knew. That’s why he was looking out for her. And she should have known that, seeing as she’d known him since she was eleven and he had always looked out for her in some way. 

“Yeah, alright. Sorry, Hermione. It’s just weird seeing you friends with my brothers. You’re our friend.” 

“I can be friends with whoever I want to be friends with!” Hermione snapped, sitting up straight and glaring at Ron. 

“Yeah, I know! But still. You don’t usually hang out with other people,” he said back, his cheeks a little redder than normal. 

Harry nodded, “He’s right.”

“Like you guys hang out with anyone else either.” 

“Well, we’ve got DA now. So, we can all branch out and make new friends, can’t we?” Harry sassed. 

They all looked each other before laughing. Hermione knew he was joking, but at the same time, she wondered if he really was. He’d been pushing them away for some time now. Ron caught her eye, and she knew he’d been thinking the same thing. What if Harry really did want to make new friends? 

“Who am I kidding, you two are the only ones crazy enough to be friends with me,” Harry said after a moment, and he threw an arm around Ron.

“Best friends,” Hermione said back, and reached her hand out to the both of them. They grabbed her hand back, and they all shook on it.


	2. Chapter 2

The next DA Meeting took place at the beginning of February. Hermione went early with Harry to set up. She was a bit excited to be moving onto bigger things than what Harry had taught before the holidays, but wasn’t sure what to expect. Harry didn’t seem like he knew exactly what to do either, seeing as he’d been flipping through a book for the past ten minutes. 

People began showing up, muttering and talking as they waited for the full group to be there. Harry looked a bit nervous as he waited for Cho to walk in, seeing as he wanted to ask her on a date. Hermione smiled encouragingly at him before walking over to Ron and waiting as well. 

Finally, everyone was there and talking quietly amongst themselves when Harry cleared his throat and began. 

“Alright, today we’re doing Levicorpus. It’s a bit fun when you’re ready for it, but when you’re not it’s...well, not fun.” 

“Hear, hear,” Ron said, having once been on the receiving end of Levicorpus by Harry. The group laughed.

Harry went through the motions, showing everyone how to do it and splitting them into pairs. Hermione was paired up with Ron, who grumbled about how he didn’t like the spell. But the first instance of him getting it correct on Hermione, he was laughing with the rest of the DA. 

When Neville joined them, Hermione excused herself. She found herself wanting water and a small station popped up nearby with glasses and a thing of water. She quickly walked over it, filling a glass and drinking it slowly, watching the group. Every so often there was a shriek, a body suspended in air, and a muffled groan as that person was dropped back on the ground. It was interesting to watch, she conceded. But seeing Harry teach left her immensely proud of her best friend. 

Harry eventually called time. Curfew was approaching and she knew he would eventually run out of nerve to talk with his crush. Hermione filed out the room with everyone else, dragging Ron along before he could mess up the moment between Harry and Cho. 

“I still don’t see why you had to drag me,” Ron whined when they finally made it back to the common room.

“Because you’re a git, and you would’ve ruined the moment,” Hermione told him.

“What moment?”

“The moment. The one where he finally asks her out and we can stop hearing about how much he likes her.” 

“Ah, that moment. The one that I didn’t know existed.” 

Hermione snorted. “Maybe if you looked past your own nose, Ron.” 

They sat in the common room for a bit, bickering back and forth.

“Hey, have you ever kissed anyone?” Ron asked after a lull in the banter. 

Hermione looked up at him, confused. “Why?” 

“Well, I dunno. Harry’s going around snogging Cho, I want to be sure I’m not the only one who’s not, ya know, dating or what not.” 

“I’m sure there’s some first years somewhere that haven’t kissed anyone,” Hermione quipped, looking down at the book in her lap. 

“Really?” Ron asked, sounding thoroughly unamused.

“What? That was funny!” Behind Ron, Fred nodded his head. Hermione giggled.

“You’re not answering me!” 

She sighed. “Yeah, I’ve kissed someone.”

“Yeah, right.” He snorted. 

Hermione chewed her lip, wondering if she even wanted to answer. But Ron’s obvious disbelief annoyed her. “It was Viktor, after the ball. And some other times.” 

“Viktor?” Ron asked, mouth agape. Even George and Fred looked up, both of them sharing looks of shock. 

“You are all aware that we went to the ball together, right?” Hermione asked, including the twins. “We dated for a bit, how else do you think I was his person in the second challenge last year?”

Ron grumbled, George laughed, and Fred just shook his head. 

“Of all the people, it had to be Viktor Krum?” Ron asked.

Hermione laughed again. “Well, you certainly weren’t realizing that I was a girl, Ron!” 

Ron flushed beet red, and crossed his arms. “Yeah, well. That doesn’t mean you have to go snogging every bloke who throws himself at you.”

“As if I would! You’re acting like I’m some slag--”

“Maybe you are!” Ron shot at her. 

“Oi!” Fred snapped, smacking Ron upside the head. George reached out and thumped his brother with a decisive “Yeah!” 

“Hey, I didn’t meant it!” But his refusal to look up from the ground said otherwise. 

“It doesn’t matter, Ron,” She said, also refusing to look anywhere but at the ground. 

Before anyone could move on with the conversation, the portrait opened and Harry walked into the common room. He hurried over to where they were sitting as Fred and George decided to go to bed. 

“Well?” Hermione asked.

“I asked her. She said she wants to. Hogsmeade for Valentine’s Day.” Harry leaned back into his seat and let out a breath. “How do people do this? This dating thing? It’s stressful.” 

“I suppose it gets easier, or no one would get married,” Ron told him. 

“Probably. It should be fine, right? A date? That’s never hurt anyone.”

“Hopefully she doesn’t start crying again.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hadn’t thought about that.” 

Hermione laughed at the pair of them. “Honestly, you two. It’ll be okay, Harry, you’ll be fine.” She stood up with a yawn. “It’s time for bed, yeah?” 

******

Fred slipped into the seat next to her as she was finishing studying. “Yes?” she asked, rolling up some parchment and sticking it into her bag. 

“Viktor Krum?”

“Oh, really, what does it matter? I seem to recall you and Angelina tucked up in a corner. I couldn’t tell one person from the other.” 

“That was George.”

“Oh.”

“Can’t you tell us apart?” Fred asked, leaning the chair back off the floor. 

“You know I usually can. I guess I just wasn’t paying attention at the ball,” She said, turning in her seat to look at him. “You know, dashing international Quidditch star as my date and all.”

Fred dropped the chair back onto the floor. They stared at each other for a second. His usual grin, half joking, was absent, replaced instead by a serious look. It was a look she had seen on him a few times, but never sent her way. His eyes locked onto her face, looking for something. “How?” he asked softly. “How can you tell?”

“You have a small scar above your left eyebrow.” She reached out, pulling her finger across the thin line. “Right here.” 

He reached up, placing his hand over hers, both of them hardly daring to breathe. For a moment, Hermione thought he was going to lean in closer, to bridge the distance. 

A book slammed up toward the front of the library, followed by a screech by Madam Pince. Fred and Hermione jumped away from each other, Hermione slamming her elbow into the table. “Ow,” she gasped, sucking in a hard breath.

And then they were staring at each other again. She couldn’t take her eyes away from him. He was, she thought, very handsome. 

“Well,” he finally said, his grin popping back up on his face, “this has been a treat.” He slipped out of the chair quickly, looking down at her. “I’ll see you later, Granger.”

“Oh, uh, okay. Yeah.” 

He moved his hand, a small jerk, before turning and walking out of the library. Hermione watched him go, not entirely sure what had happened. 

There’d definitely been a moment, she knew that much. She felt like she’d been falling, like it was just the two of them. No one else existed. She thought that he’d been about to… But no, he wouldn’t. She was his little brother’s best friend, why would he even consider… But maybe, maybe he had. 

She groaned in frustration, throwing her head down on the table. Her hair fell around her, covering her face completely while she fought back the warmth behind her eyes. 

A minute or so passed before she threw her head back up and finished putting her things away. With a sigh, she pulled her bag onto her shoulder and trucked back to the common room.

*****

Hermione was reviewing Ron’s essay for Potions when he brought up that he’d heard Fred talking about “some girl.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, he was talking about this girl like he wanted to date her. George said he needed to man up and just ask her out.” 

“Hm. Who do you think it is?” She asked, wondering if he’d heard anything that would say who it was. 

“Some girl, that’s all I know. She’s in Gryffindor, but honestly. She’s probably sixth or seventh year.” Ron shrugged, having given all his knowledge on the subject.

Hermione went back to the essay with a less focused mind. It wasn’t her, she knew that. If it had been, he would’ve just kissed her that day in the library. And he didn’t. So, he moved on. Good for him. Good for her, too. They could go back to being friends then.

A small part of her argued that it was her, and she was just being stupid. 

But it wasn’t, she’s not stupid.

She shook her head roughly, and focused back in on the essay. 

Hermione Granger was not stupid.

*****

Fred was sitting in the Astronomy Tower when she got there. “Hey, sorry. I’ll go,” she said, turning around.

“No, no! It’s okay! Please. We haven’t hung out in a while.” Fred patted the stone next to him. 

She nodded, walking over and settling in. So he considered them sitting in the tower hanging out. Was it hanging out like she and Harry and Ron? Or hanging out like she’d heard Parvati saying she and Seamus hung out? In silence, they both started working. After what couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, Fred stretched and scooted closer to her, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning over every so often to look at her work. 

Hermione couldn’t focus, not with him so close to her. Last time he had been this close, she thought about kissing him. She thought he’d been about to. And now, just as calm as you please, they were sitting next to each other doing homework. Well, she was, she couldn't ever be sure if Fred was actually doing school work.

“You okay?” he asked, after she had shifted around for the fifth time. 

“I’m having trouble concentrating.” 

“Same.” 

They drifted back into silence again. 

Fred cleared his throat. “Uh, Granger. I want to tell you something.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Hmm?”

He nodded. “When we were in the library. I wanted to tell you something, and then you distracted me. And then I thought I was about to do something very stupid, and then I left. And I shouldn’t have.”

“Something stupid?”

He cleared his throat again. “I, well, uh...” he trailed off.

Hermione had to choke down a bitter laugh. He thought kissing her was stupid. Well, whatever. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.” 

She looked back down at her book, willing her brain to focus on the words on the page. 

He opened his mouth a few times before nodding and turning back to his own things. A minute passed in awkward silence. 

“No, no, I need to say this,” he said, rushing through his words as if he would run out of confidence. “Hermione, I really like you. No jokes, no pranks. No tricks. I really like you. I almost kissed you in the library the other day. I should’ve kissed you. But I need to know if you feel the same. I thought you did and now I’m just confused.”

Hermione stared up at Fred, her mouth staying resolutely shut as her brain tried to wrap itself around what Fred was saying. 

“If you don’t, let me know, and I’ll stop bothering you, and you’ll be Ron’s best friend, and that’s okay, I can handle that, but I just--” 

“Shut up.” 

He did, closing his mouth with a snap. 

Hermione did the only thing she could think of doing: put her hand on his cheek and lean in. He was still under her palm for a moment before he relaxed and wrapped his own arms around her. One of his hands wound into her hair, playing with the curls at the back of her head. 

They finally came up for air, and Fred cracked a smile. “Took you long enough, that did.” 

Hermione grinned back at him, feeling that she could handle anything as long as he smiled at her again.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you coming back with us to the Burrow for Easter?” Ron asked, glancing at Harry and Hermione as he piled his plate full of food. 

“Of course, we wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Harry said, with Hermione nodding in agreement.

She wondered if now would be a good time to tell the boys about her and Fred. George already knew, and he had been teasing her as much as he could without Ron finding out. She had been irritated at first, but now it just bounced off. 

A good stinging hex helped slow down the comments, too.

“Well, at any rate, it should be better than Christmas.” Ron said, sharing a look with Harry. 

“Should it?” Hermione asked, absently.

“I bloody hope so,” Ron shot back, a little harsher than necessary, and Hermione decided that this was not the time.

She didn’t want to risk riling Ron up again when they were finally getting to a point where they could talk without snapping at each other. 

Three weeks had passed since Hermione had kissed Fred. They would disappear into the Astronomy Tower when they could. And despite George’s whispered comments that all they did was snog, they actually spent quite a good deal of time talking. Fred was smart and had a lot of opinions, which was a change from Harry and Ron, who were smart-- just in a different way. 

She had done more work on SPEW, and talked about what she wanted for it with Fred, who agreed (after three rounds of debate) that there needed to be a reform for how the elves were treated, and options given to those who wanted to be freed. He talked to her about the joke shop and she offered advice where she could. She believed that Fred and George could take the shop pretty far and be successful, and she was willing to help it at the very least. 

Hermione very much wanted to tell Harry and Ron, but she knew Ron would be angry. Harry wouldn’t care, most likely, as long as she was happy. 

But Ron would have a problem with his brother dating his best friend, even if she wasn’t that much younger than him-- and older than Ron. 

So, they’d agreed to not talk about it outside of George. 

“Hey, Hermione. What’d you think of doing Patronuses at the next meeting?” Harry asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“Ooh, yes. I’ve been waiting on that.” 

“Awesome. I’ll set up the next meeting then.” 

Hermione nodded. “Do you feel like we’ve covered enough of what will be on our OWLs?”

Harry laughed and said, “If anyone is going to know the answer to that question, you will.” 

*****

Hermione was upset with Fred and George, but mostly George, because it was his idea. To let the fireworks off. They were planning the show for the last day of classes, just after exams, but then Fred pulled Hermione aside as the wall was being beat down during a DA meeting. “We’re doing it tonight. The fireworks.”

“Is it your idea?”

“It’s George’s,” Fred admitted, receiving a glare just as the wall officially blew. Fred grabbed her arm, kissed her quickly, and the DA scattered.

She didn’t breathe again until she saw Fred in the common room. They stayed up late that night, and she chastised him. A lot.

“You know, Mum already got us, right?” He asked, as she took a breath.

“Yes, I heard the Howler. No more than you deserve.” 

“We won’t hear the end of it through the holiday.” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Again, no more than you deserve. Come here, I’ve missed you,” she told him, and he pulled her into a hug. 

“Are you okay? With Umbridge in charge?” he asked, moving her so that they could share the plush chair. 

“I should be. As long as you don’t do anything stupid.”

“We’ve got just one more trick and then we’ll be good.”

“Fred!” 

He shrugged. 

They sat together for a while longer, just talking, before Hermione felt she needed to go to bed. “We’ll have all week to see each other,” she told him when he protested. 

“Yes, and what fun that will be, getting to see you with Boy Wonder and my brother.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at his melodrama, leaning down to kiss him good night. She didn’t make it all the way down before he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. They stood like that, pressing into each other as if there might be a time they would never get to hold each other again. Who knows, Hermione thought as she buried her head into his chest, there’s a war starting-- we might never get this again.

*****

Hermione spent most of the break in Ginny’s room, trying to ignore the rude comments that came her way from Ron. The worst was the last day of break, the day before they were going back to school. Harry, bless him, was clueless at what to do and outwardly took Ron’s side if only because it was the Weasley’s house and Harry was a guest. 

Hermione had tried to correct an essay for Ron, who grumbled about how she thought she was better than him. “I don’t think that, Ron,” she replied, resignation heavy in her voice.

“Then why do you spend all your time going after me and correcting my stuff?”

“You asked me to!”

He scoffed, pulling his essay away from her, “Well, now I’m un-asking.” 

“Why?”

“Because, I’m tired of dealing with you.” 

Hermione felt like she’d been slapped across the face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said.” 

“What is wrong with you?” Hermione asked, tears beginning to make their way down her face. She gathered her stuff quickly and pushed out the bedroom door, bumping into Harry as she did so.

She heard Harry ask Ron what happened, but didn’t hear his answer before shutting the door to Ginny’s room and falling on her bed. 

Hermione cried herself to sleep, happy to ignore the world for a bit.

She woke up a few hours later to a hand gently shaking her shoulder. She jerked, still not fully awake, until Fred’s voice, softer than she’d ever heard it, said, “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” She rolled over, pulling herself into him and letting the tears fall over again. 

Hermione fell asleep again, only waking up the next morning to be shuffled into the fireplace and sent back to school.

*****

Fred found her in the Astronomy Tower again just after they got back to Hogwarts, arms wrapped around her knees and staring blankly at the wall across from her. “What happened?” He asked, slipping onto the floor next to her. She shrugged. “Was it Ron? The git, what’d he say?”

“He said… He said a bunch of things that don’t ultimately matter. I heard him talking to Harry.” Hermione shifted away, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair. 

Fred shook his head and pulled her into him. They sat like that for a while, Fred waiting for her to speak. Hermione was simply waiting until she didn’t feel like her throat would close up if she opened her mouth. 

Finally, she felt the lump in her throat pass. “He said that I’m just a bushy haired know-it-all.”

“Is that all?” Fred asked.

She shook her head. “No. He told Harry about Viktor, like he expected Harry to just laugh at it, too. Like it’s all a big joke, the idea that anyone could like me or want to kiss me. Harry didn’t laugh. He told Ron that he was being an idiot and to lay off. But still. Ron’s supposed to be my best friend.” 

Tears started falling. She let Fred pull her head into his shoulder, where her tears fell onto his shirt and soak into it. “Why would he say that if he’s my best friend?” She asked quietly before a heavy sob racked her entire body. 

*****

Hermione entered McGonagall’s office in the middle of a heated argument between the professor and Umbridge. It ended the minute Hermione closed the door, giving her enough time to hear that “That boy will never amount to anything” and “He will if it is the last thing I do” before being instructed to sit. 

Umbridge decided to see her way out, apparently feeling the animosity coming off of McGonagall is waves. “Miss Granger,” she tutted as she left the room.

The Head of House pinched the bridge of her nose tightly before sitting down across from Hermione. Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth was pursed so tightly that Hermione couldn’t see her lips, and her knuckles were white from being in fists. “Is everything alright, Professor?” Hermione squeaked out.

“That woman… Well, it is no matter. We are here to talk about you.” McGonagall took a deep breath before continuing. “With your grades, I feel that you could successfully manage whatever you desire following graduation from Hogwarts. Have you considered what you would like to do?”

“A bit, Professor.” 

“And?”

“I’m not entirely sure, really. I would like to go deeper into a field of study and become an expert on it. But I would also like to work for equal rights within the wizarding community. I don’t want to work for the Ministry, however, I know that much.”

McGonagall nodded. “With the way the Ministry is going, I wouldn't want you there either. I could see you becoming a potions master. It takes a deeper study than Hogwarts can provide you, and is something you would excel at. We could even offer you a position here, after you’re done.”

“I was thinking maybe something less...experimental? You know how I like rules,” Hermione laughed. 

“Yes, quite. Well, have you considered becoming a Curse Breaker?” 

Hermione thought about it for a second. It could be fun. And challenging, which was what she wanted more than anything. “That could be something.” 

“Well, you would be quite good at it. You’ll need an OWL in Arithmancy, and after this year you won’t need to take it. You’ll have to continue with Defense, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Runes. You may be advised to take languages following graduation, depending on where you would like to end up.”

Hermione nodded, looking forward to the next two years already. 

“Provided you get NEWTs in all of these subjects,” McGonagall paused to smile, “you’ll have to apply for a year long apprenticeship.”

“That’s not too bad.” 

“No, Aurors have three years of training before they become official. Potions Masters have four years of study.” 

Hermione shook her head, although inside she wished she could continue for school that much longer. 

McGonagall nodded. “I think we are good here. Do you feel comfortable with what you would like to do?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, see you tomorrow, Miss Granger.” 

“Have a good night, Professor.”

*****

Fred told her that they were leaving school as he pulled her into a broom closet just outside of McGonagall's office. 

“What?” She shrieked, before casting a muffliato charm on the door.

“Georgie and me. We’re leaving. We don’t really need to be here anymore, do we? We have the money for a shop and it’s not like we need any NEWTs to run it.” He looked at her like he wanted her to be proud. 

“When… when are you leaving?” 

“Tonight. We’re helping make the distraction for Harry. And then we’re gone.”

Hermione felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest. Fred was leaving. She could see why, could rationalize it. But she didn’t want to. She wanted him here, with her. 

“Nothing I do will stop you, will it?” 

“Sorry, Granger. But you know it’s got to happen.” 

She fought back the urge to stamp her feet like a small child, but a few tears slipped out. He wiped one of them away with his thumb before pulling her face up to his. 

A minute later, he slipped out of the broom closet with a wink. “I’ll see you on the other side, Granger!” He laughed before bouncing out of sight. 

Hermione stayed in the closet for a few minutes, trying to regain some semblance of composure before returning to the common room.


	4. Chapter 4

She was sitting next to the fireplace in the common room with Crookshanks stretched across her lap and a good book in her hands. For the first time since the break, she was caught up with studying and allowing herself a few moments of relaxation before returning to the very strict schedule she had written up. 

But Ron sat down next to her, a grimace on his face. 

“What?” She snapped.

“I dunno. You’ve been mad at me lately.”

“Gee, I wonder why.”

Ron sighed. “I don’t know why, Hermione!”

“Could it possibly be that you don’t treat me like your best friend anymore?”

“Oh, come off it!”

“I heard you talking to Harry the other day, Ron.” His face turned white and she nodded. “Am I really that horrible?”

“No, Hermione, I didn’t mean it. It was just a joke.”

“That’s not a joke, Ronald! I cried! I was really hurt and if Fr-- If someone hadn’t found me sitting in the Astronomy Tower crying, I would’ve ended up back here to hex you!” Hermione slammed her book shut, scaring Crookshanks off her lap, and stood up. 

“Hermione, I’m sorry. Honestly.” 

“Well, forgive me if I need some time to believe that,” She snapped, turning on her heel and storming upstairs to her dorm. 

*****

“So, you’re still not talking to Ron.” 

“No, I don’t want to.” Hermione closed her book, satisfied that she was prepared for the Charms exam the next morning. 

“He misses you, Hermione,” Harry said, anxiously running his hand through his hair. “And I miss the three of us hanging out together.” 

“I don’t want to be around him right now.” 

“He didn’t mean what he said.”

“He still said it.” 

Harry couldn’t argue with that. He sat next to Hermione and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Look, none of it’s true. Krum saw that you’re a beautiful girl, you’re strong, and smart, and independent. And it doesn’t take an international quidditch star to see that, Hermione. I see it. Ron sees it, too. He’s just an idiot. We both know that.” 

Hermione leaned her head against Harry’s shoulder. “You’re not just saying all that to get me to forgive him, are you?”

Harry feigned wounded shock. “Never! I must not tell lies, remember?”

Hermione sat upright and punched Harry in the shoulder. “That’s not funny!”

“Sure it is, you just need a sense of humor.”

They sat quietly for a second before Hermione asked “Harry, can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Fred and I are... together.”

“Really?” 

Hermione nodded, a tentative smile breaking out on her lips. “I can’t tell Ron, because he’ll be so upset. So only George has known. Which goes about as well as you would imagine.”

Harry laughed. “Ron won’t be happy,” he said after a second. 

“I’m not going to tell him. For a bit. Maybe ever?” 

“Probably for the best.”

“What do you think?”

Harry shrugged. “If you’re happy, that’s all that matters, doesn’t it?’

Hermione nodded and pulled him into a hug. “Exactly.”

*****

“We’re flying what?”

“Threstals, Hermione. Keep up.”

“But we can’t see them.”

“No, you can’t. Now get on,” Harry instructed, pulling onto the invisible creature. She wrapped her arms tight around his middle and held back the screams that accompanied her fear as it took off into the air. 

*****

Hermione had just sent a silencing spell at the Death Eater when he countered. She didn’t have time to move out of the way of the purple whip before it slammed into her, throwing her body to the side. She felt fire burning her insides, but she couldn’t move or scream or cry.

Everything went black in an instant.

*****

Hermione tried to open her eyes, but found that there were two pieces of lead covering her eyeballs. Not really, but everything felt heavy and tired.

Eventually, with much effort, Hermione opened her eyes to bright sunlight filtering through the high windows of the Infirmary. Madame Pomfrey bustled around the room with a tray of potions clinking together. She stopped by Hermione’s bed after a minute of setting potions down next to each person in the Infirmary and smiled gently at her. “Good, you’re awake. How do you feel?”

With another burst of concentrated effort, Hermione answered that she was very sore and very tired. 

Madame Pomfrey gave her several potions that quickly sent her back to a dreamless sleep. 

*****

She woke up again, several hours later, to a hand holding hers, its thumb gently making circles. Hermione looked over to see Fred sitting at her bedside. 

“Hey, you,” she croaked out. 

“Hey, Granger. How you feel?” he whispered, leaning down to talk to her.

“Like I’ve died and come back.”

“That’s Boy Wonder’s job, not yours. Do you need anything?”

She shook her head and sat up. “What happened after I passed out?”

“Well. A lot. The Order showed up pretty soon after Dolohov hit you, I think. There was a battle. Mum wouldn’t let us go, so I wasn’t there. Dumbledore and Harry fought You Know Who. And then the Minister showed up, so he’s having to come to terms that Dumbledore was right and he’s just a regular idiot.” Fred shrugged. “Sirius was… Sirius got hit. With the Killing Curse.”

Hermione gasped, disbelief flooding her brain. He couldn’t be gone. Not Sirius. The man was so full of life even after twelve years in Azkaban. He can’t be gone. Not now. “How’s Harry?”

“Not good,” Fred said.

“This was only the beginning, wasn’t it?” Hermione asked, mostly of herself. Voldemort was back, and now everyone knew. They couldn’t deny it anymore.There would be more battles. More deaths. Sirius was only the beginning. “Things are going to change, a lot. We don’t know what’s going to happen to anything.”

“Are you scared, Granger?”

“I’d be a fool if I wasn’t, Weasley.”

*****

When she returned to her parents, Hermione just pulled them into a hug tighter than she could’ve imagined possible. She didn’t want to let go. 

“Everything has changed, Mum,” she told Mrs. Granger as they drove back to her parents’ house. “Everything. I can’t come back here anymore after this. You’ll both be in danger.”

“Well, I don’t see why. We’re not involved in that world.” 

Mr. Granger agreed. “Yes, Wouldn’t it be safer if you were not there?”

Hermione groaned. “No, because they’ll still be able to track me if they want to. And I’m already at risk for not having any magical parents, imagine what they’ll do to you! You have no way to protect yourselves from anything magic can do.” 

“And what do you think we should do, hmm?” Mrs. Granger asked.

“Leave, go somewhere else. I’ll find you when it’s all over.” 

They both shook their heads. “Not doing that, love. Our lives are here.” 

Hermione sat back in her seat, watching the cars slip by in little blurs of color. If they wouldn’t make the decision herself, she would find a way to do it for them. As soon as she could do magic without the Ministry knowing, she would do something. 

Her mom turned up the car radio, mentioning that there was a new song playing she thought Hermione would like. Mr. Granger tapped his fingers on the steering wheel with the beat and smiled at his daughter in the rearview mirror.

Hermione smiled back, her resolve settling in her shoulders. She wouldn’t lose her parents to the war that was taking over her world. 

*****

Mrs. Weasley popped up in the middle of her living room at half past one, shocking Mrs. Granger. She still wasn’t used to people still appearing randomly accompanied by a loud pop. 

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Granger!” The red headed witch exclaimed, taking her wand out to clear up the tipped over tea. “Just here to pick up Hermione.”

Mrs. Granger waved her hand, standing up to pull her daughter into a hug. Hermione didn’t want to let go, feeling as though she would never see her mother again. A small tear slid down her cheek.

“I love you, Mum,” Hermione said, giving another tight squeeze before letting go. Her mother just patted her cheek and smiled. “Give Dad a big hug, please.”

Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione an understanding look and said, “Ready, dear?” 

Both Grangers nodded, and Hermione took Mrs. Weasley’s hand. With the feeling of being squeezed through a very tight hole, they Disapparated to the burrow. 

Hermione felt her feet hit solid ground and she immediately fell to her feet, coughing. Mr. Weasley helped her up, handing her a glass of water. She thanked him, and wobbled over to the dining table. 

“First time Apparating?” He asked, while Mrs. Weasley bustled around putting together lunch. 

“Yes, I didn’t think it would be that bad,” She laughed. 

“It gets easier, promise.” 

Ginny bounced into the kitchen, followed by Ron and Fred and George. “Hermione!” She shrieked, and ran over to give her a hug. 

“I have something for you,” Hermione said, and reached into her bag to pull out a stack of fashion magazines for her friend. Ginny grabbed them and nodded at Hermione. “We can look at them together later!”

Ginny grinned. “We’re going out to play quidditch. Two on two. Wanna be scorekeeper?” 

“My feet stay on the ground?” 

Everyone laughed, and Ginny said, “Yes, your feet stay on the ground.” 

They all trooped out to the clearing, where Hermione settled onto the ground with a book. She watched the four of them flit around on their brooms, whooping as they made goals. She told Ron that she would cheer him on, and Fred made it a point to be on his team.

She watched him as he flew around on the broom, appreciating the way his shirt clung to his muscles and the wind whipped his hair. He looked happy, she thought, smiling and laughing with his brothers and sister. He glanced down at Hermione several times, winking before doing some impressive trick that made her heart catch in her throat. 

An hour later, they landed on the ground, a little sunburned but happy, and began the trek back into the house.

Fred hung back a bit, and grabbed Hermione’s hand as she walked past him. 

They both stopped, waiting for the rest of them to leave the clearing and head up to the house. 

In an instant, Fred had pulled her into his arms, one hand caught up in her curls and the other tight around her waist. “I missed you,” he whispered into her hair.

Hermione wrapped her arms around him, squeezing hard before letting go. 

“Oh, I didn’t tell you,” Hermione said, grabbing his hand as they started back to the Burrow. “I told Harry about us.”

“And how did Boy Wonder take it?” 

“He thinks it’s good, that I’m happy.”

Fred grinned at her. “You’re happy, are you?” He asked, pulling her back into him. He leaned in for a kiss right as George walked back around the tree. 

“Oi! You’re gonna get caught if you go around like that,” He told them. 

Fred groaned. “Sod off, George.”

“Nope, people are gonna get worried. Especially one little specky git called Ron.” 

Hermione sighed. “I should tell him, shouldn’t I?” She asked, looking between them. George stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shrugged. Fred frowned. “Well, I don’t want to be sneaking around all summer, trying to hide it from him!” 

“Why don’t you wait until Harry gets here? That way, he’ll have someone to grumble to.” 

“Or he could not act like a child,” Fred suggested. 

Hermione giggled. “He’ll act like a child no matter what. But that’s fine, we can wait. He’ll be here just around his birthday, won’t he?”

The twins shrugged. “Told Ginny yet? She’d be pleased, sure enough.” George said. “And I’d have someone to whinge to when we both eventually have to cover your arses for sneaking around.”

“You won’t have to--” Hermione started, but Fred cut her off, saying “Brilliant, hadn’t thought of that. We’ll tell her right away.”

George scoffed, and they all set off towards the Burrow, which had the pleasant aroma of freshly baked pies wafting out of the window. Fred and George glanced at each other and took off running, shouting about the last one there being a spoiled potion. Hermione rolled her eyes at them, and muttered “boys” under her breath.


	5. Chapter 5

Ginny found out about Fred and Hermione roughly two days after Hermione arrived at the Burrow. Sure, they had decided to tell her, but then Fred realized he didn’t want to have that awkward conversation with his sister and left it to Hermione. Hermione, of course, was decidedly a wimp.

Hermione had taken to staying up later at night, reading any and all books she could get her hands on. She was studying, she told Mrs. Weasley, who had just pursed her lips and moved along. Fred and George would sit down with her until it could be reasoned that everyone else was asleep, and George would make his way upstairs.

Where they usually just sat next to each, talking about magical theory, how it could be applied, and anything else that they were working on. It was usually pretty decent, with little pecks placed here and there, until they both got tired and headed to bed.

Of course, Hermione thought, Ginny would walk in on them the one time they decided to make out in the middle of the living room. 

“That’s my brother!” GInny had whisper-yelled once they made it back to their room, careful not to wake the house.”You’re just full on snogging my brother! In our living room!”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “As if you haven’t thought about doing the same thing with Harry.” 

“I’ve moved on. You know I’m dating Dean now, don’t you?” Ginny got off her bed to sit next to Hermione. “You do like Fred, at least, right?”

“Ginny, I like him. I like him a lot.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. Do you honestly think I would just go around snogging someone that I didn’t like?”

Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know what you do in your spare time.”

“You know exactly what I do, Ginny. I read books, I work on homework, and I keep Harry alive.” 

“And now you date my brother. Honestly, he’s not the one I thought you would end up with.”

“Who did you think?”

“Ron.”

Hermione felt her nose wrinkle despite herself. “We’re just friends, Gin. Honestly, if it weren’t for Harry, I’m not sure we would’ve become friends.”

Ginny laughed. “If it weren’t for Harry, a lot of things would not have happened.”

“Do you like me and your brother together?” Hermione asked.

“Well. It’s a little strange that anyone could like one of those two as more than just a couple of jokers, but I suppose it’s alright. Just don’t hurt him, yeah? He means a lot to me.”

Hermione reached out and grabbed Ginny’s hand. She squeezed it once, and felt the squeeze get returned as she said “He means a lot to me, too.”

*****

“Hello, all. We’ve started setting up the shop. Due to open in a month,” Fred said, reaching down for a fresh roll on Hermione’s plate. She smacked his hand away.

“We expect all of you to be very excited and how up on opening day.”

“Opening day of what?” Mrs. Weasley asked, walking into the kitchen. 

“Of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes!” The twins shouted at the same time. 

Mrs. Weasley groaned, earning a reproachful glare from her sons. 

Ginny shuffled into the kitchen, followed by Mr. Weasley. A moment later, two owls soared into the window. One was a Ministry owl, who flew right up to Mr. Weasley, dropped its letter, and flew right back out the window. He opened the letter and settled into a chair to read it.

The second was a sleek and glossy owl, who landed gracefully in the middle of the table. It looked disdainfully at the cluttered kitchen before lifting its leg up for someone to take the letter. Mrs. Weasley reached out and detached it, and the owl hooted softly before flying back out of the kitchen. 

Everyone settled into chairs around the table, reaching for food and piling up their plates. Mrs. Weasley looked up from the letter with a sick look on her face and said “Arthur, Arthur, read this.” She handed him the letter and stared at him while he read it. He grimaced slightly. 

“Well, we were wondering if this would happen. It should be fine, shouldn’t it?” He said as he set the letter down. 

“What should be fine?” Ron butted in. Hermione kicked him under the table, and he jumped. “I’m just asking,” he muttered.

“Bill is moving back in,” Mrs. Weasley said as she picked up a piece of toast and viciously started buttering it. 

“That’s good, though, isn’t it?” Ginny asked, obviously delighted at the prospect. 

“Mm.” 

“What your mother is trying to say,” Mr. Weasley cut in, “is that Bill is bringing Fleur with him. Since they’re engaged.” 

A mixture of reactions flew around the table. Mrs. Weasley didn’t look up from the piece of toast that was being drowned with butter. Ron coughed, his face turning bright red. Fred and George exchanged looks that could only be described as downright mischievous. Ginny groaned. Hermione didn’t know how to react, so she just sat there and nodded.

“They’re not sharing a room, that’s what,” Mrs. Weasley said once everyone settled down. 

“They’re engaged, we can’t exactly stop them,” her husband countered.

“Our house! Our roof! Of course we can stop them, dear.”

“And where would she stay if they didn’t share a room?” Ginny asked, suddenly very defensive. “Not in my room, Hermione’s already in there!” 

“We’ll figure it out,” Mr. Weasley said, looking more tired now than when he had first walked into the kitchen. “Now, there’s a slight emergency in my office and I need to go in sooner than expected. I will see all of you later.” He kissed his wife, waved to all the assembled children, and stepped into the fireplace. 

A stiff silence settled over the table until Ron caught her eye. “Upstairs?” He mouthed, and she nodded. Within a minute, they escaped the kitchen and hurried up to Ron’s room. She was surprised he had asked, they weren’t really on speaking terms unless the family was around. 

“Bill’s engaged. That’s wild, I never thought I would see the day,” Ron said as he fell onto his bright orange bed. 

“He’s been with Fleur for what, a year now? I think it’s good,” Hermione told him, settling onto the window seat that overlooked the garden. 

“You weren’t here right after school ended. Bill and Fleur stayed with us for a bit, like four days or something. I thought Mum was gonna murder something. She thinks that Fleur is just after Bill for his looks,” Ron said with a shrug. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. She liked Fleur, even if she did seem a bit overconfident. “With Fred and George moved out, why doesn’t she just stay in there?”

The door opened and Ginny walked in. “They’re putting her in Percy’s old room, and Bill’s gonna stay in his room. Still don’t see the point. They’re gonna be married.” She crossed the room and shoved her way onto the window seat next to Hermione. 

“Ron’s still got a bit of a crush on her, doesn’t he?” Ginny asked her, grinning broadly. 

“Oi! I do not!”

*****

Hermione didn’t see much of Fred over the next few days because he spent so much time at the shop, working hard to put it all together. He and George were always there for dinner, but they spent most of it talking over plans for the next day and quickly excused themselves after to go home and sleep.

Fred always made it a point to give her a hug before he left, usually pulling her into the garden or the stairwell before making his exit. “See you soon, Granger,” he always told her, kissing her lightly on the forehead. 

Finally, the weekend came and the twins apparated into the kitchen. They had bright smiles on their faces and heavy bags under their eyes. Mrs. Weasley fussed over them, asking them when they last had a good night’s sleep and if they were eating enough. “It’s not like you have anyone taking care of you at your flat!” 

“Mum! We’re doing just fine,” George insisted, but he didn’t say no when she set a plate stacked high with food in front of him. 

“Yeah, Mum, we really don’t need to be treated like children,” Fred said, having already picked up a fork and digging in.

Mrs. Weasley tutted at them, setting another plate down in front of Hermione, who quickly sat down and began eating. Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen, satisfied that they were all stuffing themselves and would know where to get second and third helpings when they needed them.

“So, how’s the shop looking?” Hermione asked, scooting her chair closer to Fred.

“It’s good, it’s good. We’re nearly ready to open, I reckon.”

“We just need to hire someone to help sell things. I’m thinking young, blonde, curvy in all the right places--”

Hermione quickly cut George off to say, “Verity Williams was looking for a job. She just left Hogwarts. She was in Hufflepuff, you might know her.”

Fred and George looked at each other, having whatever twin-connected conversation they usually did. “Tell her to come by the shop. What’s she look like?”

“Young, blonde, curvy in all right places?” George asked, a hopeful grin on his face.

“Unfortunately,” Hermione told him.

Fred rolled his eyes as George punched the air. 

*****

Bill and Fleur moved back into the Burrow loudly, with muttered comments and thinly veiled sarcasm. 

Fleur, for her part, was calm and collected. Bill argued a bit with Mrs. Weasley about sleeping in separate rooms until Fleur placed her hand on his arm and said “Eet ees okay, Bill. Zey are letting us stay here until ve are married, ve vill do vat zey ask of us.” 

Mrs. Weasley puffed up a bit, looking as if she now wanted to make them stay in the same room just to contradict Fleur. She didn’t, however, and directed Fleur up to Percy’s old room. “It’s a little small, but I don’t think you need too much room, do you?” Hermione heard Mrs. Weasley say as the woman led Fleur out of the kitchen.

Bill sighed as his fiance and mother left. “It’s going to be a long year, isn’t it?” He asked no one in particular, but his three brothers, his father, and Hermione all said “Yes” with an emphatic nod. He barked out a laugh before picking up his own luggage and setting off to his own room.

*****

Hermione opened the letter from Harry with excitement, Ron peering over her shoulder. 

The letter told them that he would be leaving the Dursleys with Dumbledore, to help with something (“Either incredibly dangerous, or incredibly boring,” Ron guessed) and then he would be at the Burrow either Thursday or Friday. 

“Good, it’ll be nice to have someone around who doesn’t keep their nose stuck in a book,” Ron said, sitting down across from Hermione to eat his dinner.

Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored the jab to say, “What do you think he’s doing? Dumbledore? It can’t be dangerous or he wouldn’t take Harry with him.”

“Yeah, but it’s still probably something for the Order, right?”

“We’re not adults, we can’t be members of the Order, Ron.”

“We might as well be, seeing as we fought all those Death Eaters in June. I have scars now!”

“They’ll fade, promise.” 

“But what if they don’t? They’re from brains, Hermione.”

Hermione scoffed at Ron and stood up. “Reckon we ought to reply to him? I mean, by the time it gets there, he’ll probably already be gone, right?”

Ron shrugged. 

“Right, well. I’m going to head to bed then.” She left his room and slipped down the stairs to Ginny’s room. 

Hermione tried to fall asleep but was caught in her thoughts. She knew she needed to tell Ron about her and Fred, but there just never seemed a time where she wanted to. She was enjoying the quietness of the relationship, with stolen kisses and hugs. With looks across the table at dinner and him secretly grabbing her hand under the table. 

Ginny, Harry, and George didn’t care that they were together because there were bigger things at play in the world. But Ron would care. He would see that as the biggest thing, because his entire world consisted of the Burrow and those in it. His best friend dating his older brother? Well, it was a cliche at best and at worst… it was her being stolen away from Ron, wasn’t it?

Because, if Hermione was being honest with herself, the ability to be open would mean she would spend time with Fred rather than with Ron. She hadn’t seen him properly since the twins made their grand finale at Hogwarts and she missed him. 

And, really, Hermione didn’t like sneaking around. It made her feel like she was lying to everyone. 

Hermione drifted off to sleep, thinking to herself that she would have to tell Ron sooner rather than later. Tomorrow even, she thought, whether there’s a right time to or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda stupefied that people are reading it. i love getting kudos, that's really nice of yall. sorry there's not a lot of info or summaries or anything, i'm just kinda useless. but i'll keep posting if yall are reading!


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